Anti-Pasti are a British punk rock band, founded by vocalist Martin Roper and guitarist Dugi Bell in 1978, featuring Kev Nixon on drums and Will Hoon on bass guitar. Later they were joined by a second guitarist, Ollie Hoon. Their first album, ''The Last Call'', spent seven weeks in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
, peaking at No. 31. Roper left the band in 1982, and Anti-Pasti effectively ended until reformations in both 1995 and 2012.
History
From
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, England, Anti-Pasti were part of the second wave of punk of the early 1980s. The group were formed from a local outfit called The Scrincers, and comprised Dugi Bell on guitar, Martin Roper on lead vocals, Russell Maw and Eddie Barke (aka Edmund Sonuga-Barke). Barke and Maw soon quit. Maw went on to play for The Allies, Aftermath UK and The Egyptian Kings. Barke went on to become a notable cognitive neuroscientist. With the addition of Stu Winfield on bass and Stan Smith on drums, they released their debut EP, "Four Sore Points", on their own Dose record label. They played many gigs in and around Derby, most notably The Cosmo Club and The Ajanta and soon built up a large local following supporting bands such as
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
and
U.K. Subs
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...
Winfield and Smith were then replaced by Kev Nixon and Will Hoon before the group signed to
Rondelet Records
Rondelet Records was a British independent record label started by Alan Campion, who owned a record shop in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in the early 1980s. The label published many punk groups including Special Duties, The Threats, Deadman's Sh ...
and re-releasing the "Four Sore Points EP" followed by "Let Them Free" in January 1981. Later that year, Anti-Pasti released their debut album, ''The Last Call'', which reached the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart. Their growing profile was confirmed when a third single, "Six Guns", appeared at the end of the year and reached number 1 in the
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...
, as did the joint venture with
The Exploited
The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981, It featured the tracks "Ain't Got Me" and "Another Dead Soldier", both were recorded as part of The Wragby Studio Session Tapes in 1980. The latter spent one week at No. 70 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in December 1981.
In 1981 also saw the band take part in the "Apocalypse Now" tour with fellow third wave punk bands
The Exploited
The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,Discharge,
Vice Squad
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trai ...
,
Chron Gen
Chron Gen (short for Chronic Generation) are a British punk band, formed in January 1978 in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England.Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'', MOJO Books, , p. 115-6Glasper, Ian (2004) ''Burning Britain ...
and
The Anti Nowhere League
Anti-Nowhere League are an English punk rock band, formed in 1979 by lead singer Animal (Nick Culmer), guitarist Magoo (Chris Exall), Bones (Tony Shaw) on drums and Chris Elvy on bass.
Career Early days
The band first played at the 1980 Cha ...
. Winter 1981 saw Anti-Pasti tour America and Canada performing with
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...
,
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered by many to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk rock and credited with creating “the Chi ...
and Flipper
"East to the West", released in 1982, preceded the final Anti-Pasti album and single, both titled "Caution in the Wind", which featured Will Hoon's brother Ollie on guitar. A self-titled singles retrospective was issued a year later, but the group split in 1984 following the firing of Roper. There was a reunion in 1995, leading to mini-tours of the UK and (Germany).
After years working in the retail trade, Roper currently runs Real Ale Tours of Derby, and has various food related business interests. Bell has a financial interest in the Golddigga fashion chain.
Reformation
The band reformed in 2012, with a line up of Martin Roper (vocals), Ollie Hoon (lead guitar), Kev Nixon (drums) and new member Ben Hanson (bass). The first concert back after a 17-year absence was a warm up gig at The Horn at St. Albans on 31 July 2012, they then performed three days later as special guests at the Rebellion Festival. The third gig they played was at the 1st Annual Punk Gig at London's 229, along with
Ruts DC
The Ruts (later known as Ruts DC) are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regularly pla ...
,
Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only alb ...
and the Philistines,
Discharge (band)
Discharge are an English hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The band is known for influencing several sub-genres of extreme music and their songs have been covered by some of the biggest names in heavy metal and othe ...
,
The Business (band)
The Business were an English punk band formed in 1979 in Lewisham, South London, England. The band lasted for four decades until their frontman Micky Fitz died from cancer in December 2016.
History
The band was formed in 1979 by school frien ...
,
Vice Squad
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trai ...
, and
Infa-Riot
Infa Riot is a punk rock band formed in 1980 in Wood Green, North London, England by vocalist Lee Wilson and guitarist Barry D'Amery.
The name Infa-Riot is an abbreviation for "In for a Riot".
This line-up played various festivals around the UK and Europe, including Rebellion and Pod Parou; as well as mini tours on the continent, most notably Germany.
The band continued to write new material and finally, 34 years since their last studio album was released, laid down tracks for an upcoming album. The album was to be released in August 2016 and the band were asked to feature on the 20th anniversary of Rebellion Festival alongside other UK82 contemporary's such as The Exploited, Discharge, Chron Gen, Vice Squad and the Anti Nowhere League, however with the album set for release and shows arranged to promote it Gez Addictive was fired from the band. The Rebellion show was cancelled as were other festival and UK dates.
In August, the album ''Rise Up'' was finally released, and original member and lead singer Martin Roper agreed to fulfil gigs arranged in Antwerp and Paris; this however (because of Roper's work commitments) was agreed as a temporary measure. In the summer of 2017 vocal duties were assumed by Chron Gens, Glynn Barber, who split duties between the two bands. Following Barber's departure from the line-up Micky Bones, briefly became the front man before the band decided to become a trio with bassist Ben Hanson becoming permanent lead vocalist.
Discography
Singles
*''Four Sore Points EP'' (1980 Dose Records – Dose 001)
*''Four Sore Points EP'' (1981 Re-release- Rondelet Records – Round 2)
*"Let Them Free" (1981 Rondelet Records – Round 5)
*"Six Guns" (1981 Rondelet Records – Round 10)
*''Don't Let Them Grind You Down EP'' (1981 split release with
The Exploited
The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,UK No. 70
*"East to the West" (1982 Rondelet Records – Round 18)
*"Caution in the Wind" (1982 Rondelet Records – Round 26)
Studio albums
*''The Last Call'' (1981 Rondelet Records – About 5) – UK No. 31
*''Caution in the Wind'' (1982 Rondelet Records – About 7)
*''Rise Up (2016 Westworld Recordings)''
Compilation albums
*''Anti-Pasti'' – (1983 Rondelet Records – Round 13)
*''The Best of Anti-Pasti'' (1996 – Dojo CD – 230)
*''The Punk Singles Collection'' (2005 – Anagram)
References
Bibliography
*''Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984'' by Ian Glasper –